


patience

by viscrael



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Crushes, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, hinas good at those racing games, i imagined them as second years when writing this but their age isnt ever mentioned, theyre horrible at this whole romance thing but it works
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2016-10-07
Packaged: 2018-08-20 00:55:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8230630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viscrael/pseuds/viscrael
Summary: Shouyou knows that Kageyama has a crush on him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i havent written any kagehina that wasnt part of circus of crows since literally like february and that is ,, HORRIBLe so have this fluff in celebration of hq s3 comin out 
> 
> @anyone who reads coc: itll be updated soon i promise! we're not dead and we havent forgotten about it, we've just both been crazy busy lmao
> 
> this is unedited (as all things posted at 2 am are) so pls excuse any typos and such

Shouyou knows he’s not the most patient person in the world. Years of his parents fussing that “patience is a virtue” and that he “needs to calm down and wait” and his subsequent refusal have proved that time and time again. He’s not patient on the court and he’s not patient in class and he _knows_ that it isn’t his strong suit, okay. He can admit that. But he’d like to think that he’s been doing pretty good lately.

The thing is: Shouyou knows that Kageyama has a crush on him.

He’s known for a while now. Of course, it helps that Kageyama isn’t exactly _subtle_ about his feelings. Shouyou sees the way he stiffens whenever their hands touch, or the way he tries to put space between their thighs when they sit together during lunch. He can feel the eyes on the back of his head, almost a constant pressure: during practice when everyone’s cooling down, on their walk home from school when they brush sides, at lunch when Shouyou’s stuffing his bento in his mouth and when they hang out on the weekends at the park. Kageyama looks away when Shouyou takes too long to drink from his water bottle, face flushed red. He blushes a lot more often than Shouyou guessed he would, something that Tsukishima has caught on to and _helpfully_ pointed out time and time again.

He smiles more, too. When they’re talking, joking around, poking fun at each other and Shouyou lets out an unadulterated laugh, and sometimes Kageyama’s lips will stretch into a grin. Not the scary kind, but the soft, gushy kind, that one that Shouyou recognizes seeing on Suga’s face when he’s staring at Daichi and thinks no one’s looking. The same one Shouyou’s given his own previous crushes when they weren’t paying attention.

That’s what tips him off the most, really. The smiling. It makes Kageyama almost _glow_ the way he lights up. A glow like that only comes from having a crush.

And then the rest of the team’s comments helped move the process along. No one said anything about it at first even though it must have been obvious. Maybe they didn’t want to hurt Kageyama’s feelings or break his trust, but eventually they must have gotten tired of it. Tsukishima has never held back on jabs, but his teasing now is worse, more suggestive, and even Shouyou isn’t dense enough to miss the meaning behind it. Kageyama always turns pink after that, and as much as he tries to play it off as anger, Shouyou knows what his angry blush looks like.

So the pieces come together pretty quickly. Shouyou goes through a week of denial ( _there’s no_ way _Kageyama likes me like that, that’s just stupid, stop thinking stupid things, Shouyou_ ) before he lands on another few days of shock ( _Kageyama has a crush…on me? Of all people?_ ) and—finally—acceptance ( _Kageyama’s got a crush on me! And he’s really bad at hiding it, wow_ ).

Which is fine. Really, it is.

The issue is that Kageyama won’t _do anything._

For the past few weeks—maybe months by now, Shouyou can’t be sure—he’s been keeping himself quiet. Holding his tongue whenever he’s around Kageyama and reminding himself _not_ to bring it up, trying to keep from blurting out that, hey, he knows his very poorly kept secret that the rest of the team is also in on. He fantasizes about the conversation they’d have, about bringing it up one day after practice or at lunch when things are quiet and it’s just the two of them. It wouldn’t be very long, he thinks. He’d just ask _Kageyama, do you have a crush on me?_ And Kageyama would say yes, and he’d say _Oh, that’s good, because I like you too_ and then they’d smile at each other or kiss or hold hands the rest of the walk home.

Sometimes, Head Shouyou starts with _I like you_ because he knows that Kageyama wouldn’t reject him or try to deny it that way, and after a lot of stuttering and flustered hand motions they end up with the same result as the first scenario: smiling or kissing or hand holding. Other versions include the word _boyfriend_ and _dating_ and phrases like _can I kiss you?_ and _I really, really like you_.

Head Shouyou isn’t always the first one to confess or bring it up, either. Kageyama will stay they need to talk after school and he’ll do something really not-romantic and awkward like angrily demand _Go on a date with me_! And Shouyou will say yes anyway, despite it being super _not_ the way you’re supposed to ask someone out. Head Shouyou always just grins and fusses at Head Kageyama for not doing it the right way and never gets angry or upset by it.

Other variations include: Kageyama confessing in the middle of a completely mundane conversation, blurting out that he likes Shouyou while they’re playing video games or reading magazines and avoiding homework; Kageyama inviting him to the park late at night on a Sunday and asking him out with the moon hanging over them and the wind nipping at them through their jackets (this is one that Shouyou doesn’t like to think about too much because he knows it’s unrealistic but he also really, _really_ like this one); Kageyama skipping the confession all together and impulsively kissing Shouyou one day while it’s just the two of them, neither of them caring that they’re both inexperienced, and mediocre kissers at best. There’s a billion more versions of the same scenario.

It’s been three months since Shouyou first figured out Kageyama likes him and absolutely _none_ of the above scenarios has happened.

This, Shouyou thinks, is absolutely, completely ridiculous. He’s been so patient—and he’s not very good at that, as he’d established earlier, so this is a novelty and honestly he’s doing really great so far, not bringing it up even once since he found out. He should get a medal for this. _Someone_ should recognize how hard he’s been working!

Yachi does, hesitantly. Shouyou confides everything in her, and she knows probably more about the Crush Situation than she should. He complains to her one day over text, whining with lots of exclamation marks and emoticons that it’s so _stupid_ that Kageyama hasn’t made a move on him yet!

_Maybe you should do something first?_ she texts back a few minutes later. _If he won’t make the first move, why can’t you?_

_Because I want_ him _to do it_ , Shouyou thinks but doesn’t send. He feels…stupid, kind of, for wanting Kageyama to be the first one to confess, especially since he’s thought about confessing, like, a billion times already. But a part of him would feel like he’s losing if he does it first despite their rivalry being (usually) far behind them.

Another week passes by with nothing, not even a sign that Kageyama might be _considering_ confessing soon.

Shouyou is sick of it.

 

\--

 

Kageyama comes over Saturday after practice.

It’s nearing nine o’clock. Natsu is already laying down and Shouyou’s parents are up in their room. He breathes a sigh of relief that he doesn’t have to worry about them. Outside, the temperature has dropped, and they step into the house still shivering.

(It had been cool on the bike ride over, and while he hadn’t been _that_ cold, he’d rubbed his arms and made a big, very obvious deal about how cold he was in hopes that Kageyama would do something romantic or whatever.

He hadn’t. _Of course._ )

“I’m gonna make hot chocolate,” Shouyou says, kicking his shoes off at the door. Kageyama follows suit, holding the strap of his gym bag and looking around the foyer like he isn’t sure what to do. This is far from the first time he’s visited Shouyou’s house, but he acts like it’s new thing every time. It makes Shouyou feel self-conscious about the state of his house. Maybe he should’ve bothered cleaning the living room a bit before he left for practice today…

“Do you want any?” He asks, heading towards the kitchen. He throws his bag off to the side on the way and hears Kageyama follow behind him hesitantly.

“Uh, sure.”

He sounds so unsure. Shouyou can’t tell if it’s frustrating or cute.

“Okay!” He decides on cute and flashes his guest a smile over his shoulder before pulling two mugs from the cupboard. He’s been acting kind of weird all day, he knows, a little more jittery and restless than usual, and he’s been smiling more. Everyone probably noticed that he was acting different o Kageyama too, but he couldn’t help it! He wanted to get a head start on wooing.

Their drinks are done in five minutes, and he heads back to the living room where Kageyama is sitting on the couch, not fully comfortable yet but getting there. It’s a lot better than the first time he ever came over; he was so anxious, he’d just sort of stared at Shouyou when Shouyou offered him a seat on the couch, looking like a lost puppy.

Shouyou sit down next to Kageyama. It’s not any closer than he usually does—Shouyou has always been a very touchy person, and the moment he was comfortable enough with Kageyama to hang out with him outside of school was the moment he completely disregarded personal bubbles—but everything feels heightened. He’s hyperaware of the way their knees are touching, and it makes his stomach do summersaults in anticipation.

He hands Kageyama one of the mugs and can’t ignore when the tips of their fingers brush on the way.

“Do you wanna play a video game?” Shouyou blurts.

Kageyama takes a cautious sip of his hot chocolate, and when he comes up unburned, he nods. “If you’re prepared to lose.”

That had not been what Shouyou’d planned on saying, but the wooing can wait for them to play a few racing games. He grins. “It’s on, then.”

 

\--

 

Shouyou wins twice, Kageyama once.

“Yes!” He thrusts his controller in the air as his car on screen does an automatic victory lap, avoiding pedestrians and buildings the way that Shouyou hadn’t. “In your face, Kageyama!” _Your really cute, really stupid face_ , he amends in his head.

Kageyama huffs, leaning back into the cushion, but it’s obvious that he’s fighting a smile. He puts the controller down on the coffee table in front of him, shaking his head. “You cheated.”

“I did not! How could I have cheated?”

“I don’t know but you did.”

Shouyou can’t keep himself from laughing. Kageyama looks so good like this, barely hiding a grin, the annoyed dip in his eyebrows and slouch in his shoulders obviously just for show. He hadn’t let Shouyou win either; that had been all Shouyou.

“You have no proof!” Shouyou pronounces dramatically, falling back into the couch. He’d stood up in his excitement at winning, but he’s reminded of what he was missing the moment he fits back in the space almost tucked flush against Kageyama. Somewhere in the last three rounds, they’d gotten closer and closer until they were almost sitting on top of each other. Shouyou can’t say he’s minded.

“I’ll find some.”

“Then you’re just framing me.”

Kageyama’s eyes seem to glint with humor. “Framed with cheating at a video game.”

“Exactly.” They’re close. Kageyama showered before they left practice, and Shouyou can still faintly smell his shampoo. “It’s a high offense.”

This isn’t one of the scenarios Shouyou had originally thought of, but he amends in his head that this is the perfect opportunity for Kageyama to make a move: all he’d have to do is lean in a few inches and their lips would touching. Shouyou thinks he’d be content if Kageyama confessed right now, with the words _I like you_ so close to Shouyou’s lips. He wonders if he’d be able to taste them.

But Kageyama doesn’t close the gap, and all his lips do is turn down in a panicked frown when he realizes how little distance there is between them. He pulls back, looking around like he’d been caught doing something wrong, and Shouyou has been _so_ patient for _so long_ that he can’t help it when he bursts out, “No!”

Kageyama blinks in surprise. Shouyou runs a hand through his hair, feeling his own face begin to burn with embarrassment.

“What?” Kageyama asks, so perfectly innocent and Shouyou grabs the nearest pillow and smashes his face in it. He screams a little, muffled by the pillow, and can feel the confused, probably worried look he’s being given.

“You’re hopeless,” he whines.

“What?” Kageyama repeats.

Shouyou comes out from under the pillow. “I said you’re _hopeless_! I’ve been trying for, like, three months to get you to just _do_ something already and you had the perfect opportunity just now—no, actually, you’ve had a million perfect opportunities, but you keep missing them, and I can’t tell if you’re missing them on purpose or if you just don’t see them at all!”

He takes a moment to catch his breath, and Kageyama can’t seem the find the words to respond. He’s still just giving Shouyou that confused look, one like he might be considering calling help if Shouyou keeps failing to make sense.

“What—what the hell are you even _talking_ about?!” He finally says.

“I’m talking about the fact that you refuse to make a move on me despite clearly wanting to!” Shouyou huffs, a lot louder than he intends to. “Do—do…do you not like me anymore or something…?”

It isn’t until he says the words out louder that he realizes he’d been thinking them at all. Okay, so maybe Kageyama’s radio silence had actually been worrying him, but it’s nothing to get worked up about. Still, his body doesn’t seem to care, and his throat constricts like he’s about to cry.

Kageyama hears the crack in his voice when he asks, and his eyes soften just a little. He still looks confused and a little frustrated, but he at least can tell that Shouyou is upset about it.

“I…” He raises a hand like he’s going to take Shouyou’s, maybe to comfort him, but lowers it last moment. A frown appears on Shouyou’s lips when he catches the mistake. “How did you know that I…?”

“You always stare at me,” Shouyou answers.

Kageyama turns pink in record time. “Oh,” he says, sounding strained.

“Anyway, I’ve known you like me, so why didn’t you ever do anything about it?”

“Because…” He crosses his arms over his chest, then seems to decide against it and uncrosses them. “What do you mean _why?_ I didn’t want to make things weird between us!”

“You wouldn’t have made things weird! I like you too!”

“Well, how was I supposed to know that?!”

They look at each other for a moment. Kageyama’s eyes widen comically as what Shouyou just admitted sinks in. “O-oh.”

“Yeah.” Shouyou sits back in the couch. “But I wanted you to make a move first so I waited like _three months_ just for you to do something, only for me to be the one to confess first in the end anyway! Man,” he groans, “I could’ve brought this up months ago.”

“I didn’t know you wanted me to…” Kageyama trails off. He looks away when Shouyou tries to meet his eye, face still pink. “I would’ve…done something, if I’d known you _wanted_ me to…”

“Well, I want you to,” Shouyou says, nodding resolutely. “And now you know.”

“So I should…should kiss you or…?”

“ _Yes_ , Jesus Christ, kiss me already!”

 

\--

 

Head Shouyou was right: neither of them are very good, and they’re mediocre at best. But he smiles the rest of the night anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> come yell @ me abt the new season on my [tumblr](http://calliopin-around.tumblr.com)


End file.
